Former St. Martin's student booked with video voyeurism, accused of using phone to film female students undressing

A former student at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie was arrested Tuesday and booked with five counts of video voyeurism for allegedly using his iPhone to secretly film female classmates as they undressed. The 15-year-old male suspect os not being named because he is a juvenile, according to Col. John Fortunato, spokesman for the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

JPSO

A female student at the school, located at 225 Green Acres Road, discovered the iPhone March 23 inside of a girls' dressing room, Fortunato said. The girl believed the phone was being used to film other female students and notified school officials.

The school contacted the Sheriff's Office on March 29 and turned the phone over to investigators, Fortunato said. Detective Craig Pond obtained a search warrant for the iPhone and found photos and videos of girls undressing as well as pictures taken from beneath their skirts.

Pond identified six female students whose illicit images appeared in the phone. Five of the students and their parents agreed to pursue criminal charges, Fortunato said.

Investigators identified the 15-year-old owner of the iPhone and arranged to meet with him and his parents Tuesday at the Sheriff's Office investigations bureau in Harvey. But the boy refused to cooperate with the investigation, Fortunato said. He was arrested, taken to the Jefferson Parish Juvenile Assessment Center in Harvey and booked with five counts of video voyeurism.

Fortunato said the boy was enrolled as a student at St. Martin's at the time the incident occurred. "When the school and investigators made the determination that he was the suspect, he withdrew," Fortunato said.

The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Baer, interim head of St. Martin's, confirmed the incident on Friday.

"The safety and security of our students is always our top priority," he said in a statement sent to The Times-Picayune. "This matter was reported to the authorities by St. Martin's and is in the hands of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The juvenile charged is no longer a student at St. Martin's. Because the matter is being handled by JPSO, and out of respect for the individuals involved, we will have no further comment."